


Bottom Line

by ladylana



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Bisexual Scott, M/M, Not Beta Read, Reyes being a good boyfriend, Sexuality, discovering sexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26051620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladylana/pseuds/ladylana
Summary: For as far as Scott can remember, he was labeled as a "pretty boy" and he's seriously tired of it. Reyes has to prove to Scott that he's something more to him than a cute lover.
Relationships: Male Ryder | Scott/Reyes Vidal
Kudos: 27





	Bottom Line

Scott always felt a little unfortunate about his looks. At first, he experienced being compared to his twin sister, and while he didn't know why people expected him to look more like her, he's found those comments a little funny, but very strange nonetheless. But, as he grew up, and when people had finally stopped making comparisons between him and Sara, he started to receive other comments about his looks. And while at first they made him feel really proud about himself, soon they started to sound very strange. Even at school, his friends would casually say that he's cute or something between the lines. 

He had received his first “you're a pretty boy” comment when he was fifteen, while he was partying freely at the club with his friends. He was somewhat surprised, because that comment was made by an older man, who looked at him strangely. He still wasn't confident in his sexuality then, so he brushed those word aside, pretending hard not to understand the implications. And besides, older men seriously weren't right up his alley. 

Soon, he learned that his looks are going to be a bigger problem. While he was coming to terms with his own sexuality, accepting the fact that he finds both men and women attractive, and that he's really okay with all the touching involved with being attracted to someone, he had heard that phrase about him being “cute” or “pretty” so often it started to rub him the wrong way. And while his partners didn't have evil intentions, he always felt uncomfortable, especially when he was being compared to a woman. Okay, that happened only once, but it left a bad taste in his mouth anyway. He had enough of that shit already.

So, yeah, his first sexual experience ended bad. Really bad. For his partner of course, not for him. He had hoped that it would go well, that he won't feel that much discomfort from being the submissive part in the act, but he did. It was pretty awful. And it was all because his partner kept calling him “pretty” and “cute” and even “precious”, while Scott was already sick and tired of hearing those adjectives. Hands that were groping him greedily felt wrong, and lips that were muttering all those nonsense were not welcomed. He tried to save the situation by trying to top, but then he heard those words. That he should just lay back and look pretty, and allow others - he meant him of course - to play nicely with his fine body. 

That night, his biotics went somewhat out of control. It was a mess, but fortunately nobody got hurt, and his partner ended up with a broken arm. But soon after that he'd found himself in a similar situation and he actually had to admit that he can't change people's opinion about him. He was considered “pretty” and labeled “bottom”. Well, shit. 

He gave up, and soon after, he enlisted in the military. And then, for various reasons, he landed in the Andromeda galaxy, over 2 millions light years away from the Milky Way. 

New galaxy, new rules, right? And while he wasn't keen on romancing anyone at the beginning at his journey, he'd hoped something would happen. Something good. But he wanted to be treated seriously. He didn't want to be anyone's boy-toy. He shuddered at sheer thought of it happening. Hell, he even cultured that damned fuzz on his face just to look more manly. Of course that plan failed completely, but at least he felt protected from the worst of the lot. 

And somewhat, he ended up in a relationship with Reyes Vidal. The irony. It was just his usual luck to fall in love with another bastard in his life. Sexy bastard, but bastard nonetheless, and widely known crime lord on Kadara. Even then, Scott considered everything about him to be sexy and worthy of attention. Even his shady side. 

It was bad, his strong attraction to that man. But all that he could feel from that was a failure coming his way. True, Reyes never called him “cute”, but... it could happen, right? It's always been like that. No reason it would be different now.

To prevent it, he tried hinting that he's more badass than he looks. But because he wasn't sure about the effects of his ministrations, he had to actually ask Reyes just what was he thinking about him. Or more like, how he looked at him. 

He tried being bold for once. 

“Reyes, how could you compliment me, if you had to say anything about me to, let's say, your greatest friend?” he asked, trying to hide his nervousness behind a smile. 

They were eating dinner at the bar, and Reyes was wearing something Scott had never expected him to wear. He actually appeared in black, buttoned up shirt and white jacket with two blue stripes on its sleeves, with the Initiative's logo on his chest, right at his heart location, and winged badge above it. When Scott saw Reyes in that outfit, he stood absolutely speechless for a moment or two, and then he turned into one big question mark. “Well, we were all once a part of this big project, and we all had those fitting costumes” Reyes said, with amused smile on his face. “I look less suspicious wearing that. Never thought I would wear it again, but here I am. Being shady in my whities.”

Scott remained speechless for a time, and had to endure Reyes' entertained stares as well as amused chuckles, but finally he gathered enough courage to ask him all the important questions. Starting with that one about his looks. 

“Let's see... I would say that you're dashing.” 

Scott couldn't really hide how surprised he was at those words. 

“I am? Really?” he tried to be coherent, but failed. 

Reyes looked completely serious. 

“Yes. Because you have a dash of everything that I admire in you.” 

Scott felt even more incoherent “oh!” coming up, so, as to prevent it, he bit his lower lip. It worked after a few moments. 

“Only a dash?” he asked instead, pushing himself to think more straightforwardly.

“Actually a lot, but I wanted to make it cheesy. I'm a cheesy man to the bone.”

Scott sighed. 

“That sounded even worse.” He admitted, making Reyes smile pretty widely. “But wait. That's seriously how you see me? Dashing? Nothing else?”

“Well, you asked how I would compliment you in front of my friend, and I replied like that because I said something similar to Keema already and she laughed like a madwoman. After that, I came up with an explanation for it. It came out cheesy as hell, as you've just heard.”

“But now I'm curious. How would you compliment me? I mean, if you had to focus on something. That you like about me. Or, you know, feel attracted to?”

Reyes was silent for a moment, chewing on some potato purée from his plate. Unfortunately, it was only instant food, made from powder that Reyes was not really fond of. But it was food nonetheless, so he didn't complain. 

“If I had to choose, maybe your eyes? I like how intense they can get from time to time. Truth be told, I fell for that stare of yours first.”

Scott felt his cheeks getting hotter. 

“You don't think I'm cute or anything?” he blurted out, both ashamed and curious. 

“Cute? You? I wouldn't call you that, Scott, even if someone paid me for it. Actually, I think I would shoot anyone who'd be stupid enough to say something without that much sense.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. So, you actually think I'm handsome?”

Reyes looked at Scott with amusement. 

"Scott, if you want to hear me say it, you just have to ask. You don't have to circle around it."

Scott gasped. 

"I just-- I was just curious what you think of me." 

"Truth be told, my head is filled with some syrupy words that I'd rather not say out loud in public. Should I say them?"

Reyes' smile was so suggestive, that Scott immediately made a decision to not ask his lover about what's exactly on his mind right now.

“No, no need. Shit, I think I'm red like a damned tomato, right to my ears. I don't look funny, do I?”

Reyes managed to keep a straight face. 

“I can't see a thing. Only my dashing pathfinder being himself again.”

“That means you're not going to forget about this, aren't you?”

“Not possible. You're too precious right now to just brush it aside.”

After that, Scott decided not to dwell on the subject any further. He simply enjoyed the time they could spent together, and allowed himself to just relax and go with the flow so to speak. Reyes, still in his unusual clothes, took him away from the main port on Kadara, so they could spent some time alone, excluding SAM that was always there with Scott, but he was quiet most of the time. 

**

Ryder had so much fun, that he forgot to put his guard up. So, when Reyes invited him to his newly furnished room in a pretty small apartment, stuck between two absolutely normal and simple prefabricated homes in Kadara port, he followed him happily. Obviously, Reyes had been drinking alcohol and he was pretty generous in sharing a bottle with his lover, but it was all because he had a plan. 

A plan of seducing Scott. It involved some fine whiskey of course, but after that he imagined himself wrapped around Scott, or the other way around, and a lot of touching, kissing, maybe even biting and sucking in all the right places. And, to his satisfaction, they soon started to kiss. And from Reyes' point of view, Scott was pretty much into it. His hands were lazily moving under his shirt, making circles and groping his muscles. While he was in a daze, his hands moved lower, to Reyes' belt, and then he started to undress him. Reyes followed. While they were both busy with their clothes, he pushed Scott down on the couch, so they would be more comfortable. 

To his surprise, Scott wrapped his legs around him pretty boldly.

“I'm not cute, right?” he murmured between the kisses. 

“Scott, you're the most beautiful person I've ever met.” 

Blue eyes, a little hazed, looked at him fiercely. 

“You... really fell in love with me, right? With me as me, a man?” He asked, with lower than usual tone of his voice.

Reyes smiled.

“Scott, I love you with all my heart, my soul and my every thought. I think about you night and day, thinking about what you're doing when I'm not beside you and when we will be together again, so that I can hold you in my arms and kiss you like there's no tomorrow.”

Scott shuddered and blushed, even though it looked like it was impossible, because he was already red and excited.

“Okay. Okay, this is serious. Like, very serious. And, um, can I ask you something?” 

“Anything you want.” 

“Have you considered me, um, being on top? On top of you of course. And not in a way of me being on top and still being on the receiving end... Well, what I mean is... You know what I mean, right?”

“I'm fine with that if you want to do it. You want to do it?” 

Scott was so surprised, that he remained speechless for a few seconds. His stare was sharp and sensible again.

“Reyes, are you actually serious about it?”

“Why, of course I am? I am very much aware that I'm holding a man. That could go both ways and I will pretty much enjoy being on top as well as bottom. In the end, it's you who I'll be with, so it doesn't matter. But wait, were you asking me those questions today because of that matter?”

Scott quickly averted his gaze, but Reyes actually felt his heart getting warmer. 

“I see. Well, I would have told you if you asked me earlier, but I understand how embarrassing it was for you to spell it out.”

Scott ascended deeper into shame that overpowered him. Still, he mustered all of his courage to spell it out now. 

“I imagined that you wanted to be the one in control of things. You know, because you're always the one with a plan. I don't have much experience in that field, so I wanted you to show me. If you want. I'm actually fine with that, just wasn't sure what were you thinking. In general.” 

Reyes chuckled, thinking to himself that his lover is just too cute for his own good. But he would never tell him that. He knew very well how that would end. 

“Scott, you flatter me, but it's true that I'm just as uncertain as you. I care about you and want to give you everything.” 

Scott shuddered. 

"You... can do whatever you want with me" he spouted, before shame almost burned his cheeks. 

"So bold, my darling." Reyes chuckled. "But I'm happy that you trust me this much. Giving your body to me like that. Are you not afraid?" 

Scott cupped his lover's face with his hands, then looked at him calmly. 

"Yes, Reyes. I trust you." 

Reyes kissed him, and it was a very soft, loving kiss. Scott almost melted from sweetness that it contained. He understood that Reyes really loves him, and that he really wanted to give his body to him. And Ryder was ready for anything.

For the first time in his life, he felt like he was in the right place, with the right person. 

**Author's Note:**

> It's one of my oldest stories, that I've written right after joining AO3. I think I was really disappointed with my own skills as a fanfic writer and for the longest time I couldn't finish this properly. I still think I could have given it a better ending, but I guess it's fine enough. I try not to be so hard at myself lately. I try to write each day, even one line is fine, both in English and my native language, and I hope to post something soon again :-)  
> I hope you enjoyed it!


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